Abstract
The problem of levee embankment control during high flows is crucial for flood risk management in floodplains. Levee defense lines are often hundreds of kilometers long and surveys during emergencies are not easy tasks. For these reasons, levees monitored with in situ sensors and a suitable Information Technology (IT) real-time data communication and integration infrastructure, so-called “smart levees”, are gaining increasing interest as a crucial protection technology in floodplains. The paper presents the conceptualization of a prototype of a levee smart revetment, based on the integration of an optical fiber (OF) cable into a steel double-twisted wire mesh. In this paper the feasibility of this kind of revetment is firstly assessed. The flow pattern of overtopping water on the embankment is discussed, thus producing a raw estimation of the shear stress acting on the revetment in the field. A sample case is then analyzed in both numerical and laboratory tests. For this purpose, a numerical Finite Element Model (FEM) to describe the mechanical behavior of a double-twisted wire mesh when loaded along its own plane is presented. Numerical results indicate that the related strain, relatively low as compared to the steel wire yield stress, can be fully detected by the optical fiber continuous Brillouin sensor. This has been validated by the experimental activity performed and a digital twin of the prototype of the smart revetment, suitable for virtually testing the product under any load and constraint conditions and tailoring the production process, has been created.
Highlights
Levee monitoring and surveillance during flood events are fundamental activities for flood risk management in lowland areas
This range has been selected in order to study the mechanical behavior of the wire mesh when it is subjected to low-entity actions, as happens with an incipient overflowing stream
The problem of levee embankment control during high flows is crucial for flood risk reduction
Summary
Levee monitoring and surveillance during flood events are fundamental activities for flood risk management in lowland areas This is true for the inland floodplains which are often protected from river floods by thousands and thousands of kilometers of earth embankments [1]. These issues affect coastal embankments which have to protect the coast from storm surges. Levees play a role as Eco-DRR (Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction) components of a desirable strategy mixing gray and green options [5]. Their state of health is revealed only when they are recruited to carry out their task, i.e., during river high flows. These are earth structures, exposed to the elements and to an infinite number of possible problems derived from the action of man, or of burrowing animals, or other natural issues such as those due to earthquakes
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